China’s Reliance on Coal Undermines ‘Unprecedented Pace’ of Clean Energy Production: Report

Energy production in China is pitting renewables and coal against each other, while holding back advances in energy production, said a new analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM).

China is both the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and the largest renewable energy producer in the world, reported The Guardian.

“China’s rapid expansion of renewable energy has the potential to reshape its power system, but this opportunity is being undermined by the simultaneous large-scale expansion of coal power. The continued approval and construction of new coal plants — [one] driven by industry interests and outdated contracts rather than actual grid needs — risks locking China into fossil fuel dependence at a time when flexibility is crucial for integrating clean energy. Without decisive policy [shifts], China’s energy transition will remain an ‘energy addition’ rather than a true transformation away from coal,” said Qi Qin, the report’s lead author and China Analyst at CREA, in a press release from GEM and CREA.